The uniform was obviously different and a different color but Adam Dunn hadn't changed a bit. Dunn,the former Reds star and current Nationals first baseman/outfielder, met with the media in the visitor's dugout for a few minutes on Thursday. He teased a couple of people including Ken Broo and Seg Dennison and checked out Great American Ball Park from his new perspective.
"This is the first time I've stepped out here and looked and it looks red," Dunn said. "It's really red out here. It's what I remember."
Although fans often had a love-hate relationship with Dunn (loved the homers, hated the strikeouts, fielding and the team's losing) -- but he harbored zero ill will towards anything or anyone in Cincinnati.
"I'm not bitter at all," Dunn said. "I got an opportunity to play here since 2001. I enjoyed my time here. I met some great people. It's a business. I understand that. I don't hold grudges against anything. It worked out for a reason."
There was a time when Dunn and owner/CEO Bob Castellini were looking to extend Dunn's stay with the Reds but that obviously changed when Dunn was traded to the Diamondbacks just over one year ago. In the off-season, he signed as a free agent with Washington.
"I understand this is a business and that's how it goes," Dunn said of his end with the Reds. "They obviously did what was best for the organization and I still think Mr. Castellini is one of the best people I've met in my life. They'll definitely turn this thing around here. I met a lot of great people here that are hard to replace because you're with them day in and day out for x-amount of years. That's the main thing I miss about it."
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